Shoppers celebrated 2017 summer holidays with avocado purchases that supported record-high retail dollar sales for the category. The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) recently released their Holiday and Events report for Q3 2017, detailing retail avocado category performance across the country for this past Father’s Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Fourth of July 2017, was particularly notable, with the overall category posting a double-digit dollar increase over prior year and marking a four-year holiday high of $49.6 million (+$4.7 million), despite a slump in volume. All regions contributed to the dollar gain, while volume performance was mixed across the regions, ranging from +5% in Great Lakes to -21% in Southeast.

“Shoppers are looking for delicious, healthy options for summertime holidays and events, and avocados are a natural fit,” says Emiliano Escobedo, executive director of the Hass Avocado Board. “HAB supports retailers and marketers of avocados with category insights for summertime holidays and year-round.”

Father’s Day 2017 started summer off with strong avocado dollar trends. On a national basis, retail sales this past Father’s Day reached $48.7 million, an increase of +$7.3 million over prior year, with all regions contributing big dollar sales gains. Total U.S. volume was down (-4%), with mixed performance across the regions.

As summer was winding down, Labor Day continued this past summer’s holiday sales trends, with retail dollar sales up +9% for the holiday week. At the regional level, dollar sales also topped prior year in all regions, but all regions also experienced volume declines. Rising prices were a factor for all three of the summer holidays detailed in the report; however, Labor Day saw the largest overall average price increase (+39.5%) and the highest average price ($1.59/unit). At the regional level, prices varied widely, from $1.26/unit in South Central to $1.76/unit in Northeast.